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Austria and Slovenia - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism

Slovenia: Protests Against Austerity Cuts

Due to a general strike, Slovenia comes to a standstill. More than 100,000 public servants protest against social cuts.

January 23, 2013

Croatia: Dispute with Slovenia May Postpone EU Accession

In July, Croatia should become a member country of the EU. However, the legal dispute with Slovenia is still an obstacle. The neighbor country may cause a delay of Croatia´s accession.

January 17, 2013

Construction Output: Sharp Decrease in Slovenia and Slovakia

In the Euro area, the production in construction was down by 0.4%.

January 17, 2013

Croatia: One Step Closer to the EU

According to their own statements, the Croatian government has fulfilled eight out of ten tasks, which must be finalized until July 2013. However, Croatia´s economic problems are far from being solved.

January 15, 2013

New Elections in Slovenia?

The government crisis in Slovenia sharpens. Economists warn of a leftist coalition.

January 15, 2013

Fitch: Austrian Banking Industry Depends on CESEE

According to the U.S. rating agency, the situation of Austrian banks strongly depends on the development in central, east and southeast Europe.

January 14, 2013

Slovenia: Jansa Receives Support

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa receives support from his party SDS. The government crisis continues, though.

January 10, 2013

Slovenia to Cut Corporate Tax Rate

In order to improve the labor market situation, the Slovenian government has decided cut the corporate tax quota by three percentage points.

January 9, 2013

Slovenia: Government in Crisis

After severe allegations of corruption, Slovenia´s government is under pressure.

January 9, 2013

Retail Trade: Sharp Decrease in Slovenia and Bulgaria

Volume of retail trade up by 0.1% in euro area in November 2012 compared with October 2012.

January 8, 2013

Slovenia: Sustersic Rules Out Coming Under Rescue Umbrella

In an interview with the Austrian news magazine “Standard”, Slovenia´s Minister of Finance Janez Sustersic says that his country is not candidate for the safety net ESM.

December 28, 2012

WIFO: „Shut Down Hypo Group“

The Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) recommends closing the nationalized banking group. The number of banks is expected to shrink radically.

December 27, 2012

CESEE Asset Quality: “Not out of the woods”

In terms of asset quality the banking sector trends in CEE remain a mixed bag, Raiffeisen Research says.

December 20, 2012

Slovenia: No Referenda Against Austerity Policy

The Slovenian Constitutional Court decided that the Slovenians will not hold a public vote on the creation of a bad bank and the privatization policy.

December 20, 2012

Decreasing Production Output in Slovenia and Slovakia

October 2012 compared with September 2012: Euro area production in construction down by 1.6%.

December 19, 2012

Slovenia: Citizens Protest Against Austerity Cuts

The austerity policy of the centre-right government faces fierce resistance by the trade union and citizen´s movements.

December 18, 2012

Zavarovalnica Maribor Remains Slovenian

The Slovenian insurance company was taken over by the Sava Re. NKBM has to increase its equity quota.

December 11, 2012

Slovenia Sharpens Austerity Measures

The Slovenian Parliament resolved the budgets for 2013 and 2014. The country tries to fulfill the Maastricht criteria.

December 8, 2012

Hypo Group: Deadline Expires

Today, the first deadline for the sale of Hypo Group´s subsidiaries in Southeast-Europe expires.

December 7, 2012

Slovenia: Austrian Grawe Will not Take Over ZM

The second-biggest Slovenian bank NKBM (Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor) sells its interest in the insurance group Zavarovalnica Maribor (ZM). Sava Re negotiates with NKBM already.

November 30, 2012

Fitch Cuts Croatia´s Credit Rating Outlook

The U.S. rating agency argues that the economic development in Croatia is substantially behind the expectations.

November 30, 2012

Slovenia to Inject Further Money in NLB

The biggest Slovenian banking group NLB records a capital shortfall of € 375m. Risky loans reach more than € 1.5bn.

November 29, 2012

CESEE: Russia Has Best Growth Prospects

Next year, Russia is expected to record a GDP growth rate of 3.8%, Vienna Institute of International Economic Studies (wiiw) says.

November 26, 2012

CESEE: Eurozone crisis and Austerity Push Half of the Region into Recession

Export weakness and suppressed domestic demand will push nearly half of the CESEE region into recession this year, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, and nearly all Western Balkan countries.

November 26, 2012

EBRD: CESEE Countries Must Improve Legal Security

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development underlines that banks need more stable legal systems in Eastern Europe.

November 24, 2012

Slovenian NKBM in Difficulties

The second-biggest Slovenian Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM) bank suffers from its risky assets. The NPL quota is still on the rise.

November 22, 2012

Zavarovalnica Maribor Sale: Slovenia Under Pressure

The Slovenian bank NKBM has to sell its stake in the second-biggest Slovenian insurance company Zavarovalnica Maribor (ZM). The sale proves difficult.

November 21, 2012

Slovenia to Sharpen Austerity Measures

The Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa announced that the austerity policy will be implemented even more consequently.

November 20, 2012

Hypo Group: Cash Contributions Come at € 500m

The Austrian state has to inject another € 500m in the financially stricken nationalized bank. Furthermore, guarantees will increase by € 1.0bn.

November 14, 2012

CESEE: Lending Shrinks

Foreign banks reduce lending in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Hungary and Southeastern Europe are most affected.

November 12, 2012

Slovenia Still Rules Out Calling for Rescue

The Slovenian government tries to prevent to be bailed out by the EU and IMF by all means. However, experts fear that Slovenia is the next candidate for the safety net.

November 10, 2012

Slovenia and Austria to Deepen Co-Operation

The Slovenian Minister of Economics Radovan Zerjav and the President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce Christoph Leitl want to intensifiy the economic co-operation.

November 8, 2012

Slovenia: Creation of Bad Bank Should Solve Credit Crunch

At the moment, the Slovenian banking sector does not fulfill its main task. The real industry suffers from a credit crunch.

November 6, 2012

Hypo Group Starts Selling Business in SEE

The nationalized Austrian banking group has to downsize drastically. Today, Hypo Group started to put the subsidiaries in Southeastern Europe for sale.

November 6, 2012

South Stream Pipeline: Gazprom Concludes Contract with Hungary

The Russian energy group Gazprom has negotiated the last conditions of the contract with Serbia and Hungary.

November 2, 2012

Purchasing Power: Austria Ranks 6

Regarding the purchasing power per head, Austria is significantly above the European average of € 12,802.

October 31, 2012

Slovenia: Foundation of Bad Bank Proves Difficult

After the approval of the Slovenian Parliament, the government faces a public vote on the creation of a bad bank and an industrial holding group.

October 24, 2012

RBI Cuts Slovenian Subsidiary Radically

The Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International plans to lay off the half of its workforce in Slovania.

October 16, 2012

Grawe Bids for Zavarovalnica Maribor

The Austrian insurance group wants to take over the Slovenian insurer Zavarovalnica Maribor (ZM). ZM´s management prefers Slovenian bidders.

October 10, 2012

Slovenia Resolves Financial Transaction Tax

The Slovenian government wants to introduce a 6.5% tax on securities trading. The financial industry criticizes the government massively.

October 9, 2012

Slovenia: Second-Largest Insurance Group to be Sold

The Austrian Uniqa Group and Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung (Grawe) are interested in Zavarovalnica Maribor (ZM):

October 8, 2012

Slovenia to Sharpen Austerity Measures

The Slovenian centre-right government announces new austerity cuts. The budget deficit should be lowered to 3.0% of GDP.

October 5, 2012

CEE Countries Must Work Upon Economic Convergence

CEE countries are struggling with weaker external demand and uncertain consumers, whereas in most cases fiscal policy is under control. Labour productivity, costs and competitiveness of CEE region give reason for optimism.

October 5, 2012

Austria: Fixed Costs Come at 55% of Household Income

In Eastern Europe, the share of fixed costs is even higher. Romanian households spend 76% of their income on fixed costs.

October 4, 2012

Slovenian Parliament Approves Creation of Bad Bank

The Slovenian state creates a bad bank in order to restructure the financially stricken banking sector.

October 4, 2012

Nine Prime Minister Discuss EU Budget in Bratislava

The Prime Ministers of nine countries of Central and Eastern Europe will meet in the Slovak capital on October 5.

October 3, 2012

IMF Puts Pressure on Slovenia

Slovenia is urged to implement quick reforms. Otherwise the country may have to be bailed out by the safety net.

October 3, 2012

RBI: Poland Shows Stability

In Poland, Raiffeisen Bank International´s NPL ratio comes at 8%. By contrast, Ukraine and Poland are much more problematic.

October 1, 2012

Slovenian Recession Aggravates

In 2012, the Slovenian economy is expected to shrink by 1.8%. Next year, Slovenia will not have reached the growth zone.

October 1, 2012

Raiffeisen: CEE Network to be Closed

Austrian RBI (Raiffeisen Bank International) announces that the expansion in Central and Eastern Europe will be concluded soon.

October 1, 2012